You're like a party somebody threw me

You taste like birthday

You look like New Years

You're like a big parade through town-

you leave such a mess, but you're so fun.

(The Party - Regina Spektor)

When I approached the steps, Sam was having a serious conversation with some guy. I really don't know his name. He wore a black hoodie and faded jeans.

"Noah took over the table, so we came here," the kid shrugged. "What's the big deal?"

"Here's the deal," Blaine said calmly, "if you and your friends move, you won't get slushied. If you don't, your kids will come out blue. I don't want to do this," he placed the palm of his hand on his chest, then tilted his head sympathetically, "but I'm afraid it can't be stopped. You understand me, right?"

The kid stared at Blaine for a few seconds, fear flashing in his eyes before he blinked. "I do," he said.

Blaine smiled, "Fantastic! Have a nice day." The boy nodded, then he and his friends walked away. Sam noticed me, then wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"I don't know who they think they are," he said, just loud enough for me to hear. I shrugged. I don't know who I am either. "Quinn, I'm not mad at you, but I hope you know why this is happening."

I nodded.

"Good," he gave me a charming smile, "then you know why you have to stop."

I was putting my books in my locker when the halls became eerily quiet. Brittany shifted awkwardly on her feet, so I turned to face her. Next to her stood Santana, who had her regular scowl resting on her lips.

I cleared my throat. "What do you want, Lopez?" She arched an eyebrow, as if to ask, 'Really? You wanna play this game?'

She rested against the locker, and Brittany took it upon herself to leave. I knew that the tension between Santana and I could be felt from miles away. "I got a phone call," she told me.

"Congratulations."

"It was Leo," she added. Leonardo has a cell phone? He's, like, ten.

"Is everything okay?" I asked in a hushed tone, just loud enough for her to hear.

"Rhys got in a fight," she stated nonchalantly. My eyes bulged. Rhys hasn't been in a fight for nearly a year. "Leo says that some guys were making fun of his hair at recess. Leo didn't fight, but he was a big part of it, so they both were sent home."

"Who -"

"Maribel picked them up. She can't stay long, so I'm ditching the rest of my classes," Santana made a small gesture towards the clock, which showed that there were about three hours of school left.

"I'm going too -"

"No you're not," she chuckled. "You've never ditched a class in your life."

"Based on the past few days, there's a first to everything. Besides, it's my brother. I'd do anything for him."

She nodded in understanding. I know that she'd do nearly anything for Leo to smile. "Well, mom just left so I have to go. Are you ready?"

"Sure," I breathed.

When we entered the house, it seemed empty. The living room TV was off, and all of the chairs at the kitchen table were pushed in. We went up the stairs and checked Leo's room first, but it was empty. I've never been inside of his room before. The walls were painted blue, and there were white clouds near the ceiling. There were several books scattered on his bed, and a green mac laptop sat on his desk. Before I had to to look any further, Santana spun on her heel and started her way to Rhys' room.

We found them sitting on his bed with their legs crossed. I winced and pouted at Rhys' appearance; his hair was messy, hardly held in the pony tail he put it in, his eye looked like it was swelling up, his nose looked bruised, and there was a little red stain on his shirt. When he saw me, he immediately put down the ice pack he was holding and ran to my arms.

"Rhys," I said softly as I hugged him. "Why?" He shrugged. "Talk to me," I urged him. I glanced up at Santana, who was running her hands through Leonardo's hair. Before I could ask them for a moment alone, Leo spoke up.

"It's my fault," he said softly, keeping his eyes trained on the carpet.

"What do you mean?" Santana asked him.

"Someone was making fun… and I didn't care… but Rhys did."

"What happened Leonardo?" She pressed.

Leo scowled and stared at the wall. I glanced at Rhys, whose eyes were red and rimmed with tears. "They said he looked like a little girl," muttered Leo.

"How is it your fault?"

"I should have stopped them. And him. But before… before they were saying, 'defend your boyfriend!' I-I didn't know what to do."

Santana and I looked at each other, both of us at a loss for words. What am I supposed to say to that -

"They saw us holding hands, so I pushed him away," came Leo's voice. He turned to look at Rhys, a look of desperation in his eyes. "I'm sorry," he said.

"I'm not gay," Rhys spat. I stared at him. He said it like it was an insult, like it was wrong. Exactly what he was raised to believe - thanks momma.

"I know!" Leo ran his hand through his hair.

"Okay, hold up," Santana stepped away from Leo and turned to face all of us. "I don't care what you two are, gay, straight, a fucking pony, I could not care less. You are only ten," she looked at Leo, then to Rhys, "and you are eight. So whatever you think you're feeling drop it. You're babies -"

"We're not babies!" Argued Leo.

"You're my baby brother!" Santana yelled louder, "I don't care if you're into boys or girls, the bottom line is, you're too young for any of that!"

I looked at Santana and Leo, shifting my eyes back and forth at the two of them as they stared each other down. I have never seen Santana talk to Leo like this.

"I'm ten years old," Leo stated proudly, puffing out his chest, "and I'm old enough to make my own incisions."

"Decisions. Thank you for proving my point," Santana crossed her arms. "You're not going to have a boyfriend or girlfriend until I say so. Bottom line. I'm you're big sister, I'm in charge, and -"

"You're not my mom!" Leo shouted.

"Did you tell mom what you told me?" Santana challenged. Leo shifted awkwardly, then lowered his glare and shook his head. "So that's not really relevant, is it?" Again, Leo shakes his head. "What I say goes. Why don't you go walk around in the back for a little and cool off."

"Thank you," Leo mumbled as he walked out of the room swiftly, tossing a glance at Rhys before leaving without another sound. Santana let out an audible sigh, then turned to face Rhys and I.

"You got this?" Santana asked me as she made a small gesture towards my little brother. I looked down at him hesitantly, and could hardly hold back my wince. I'd forgotten about his black eye. Santana gave up quickly on waiting for my response. "Listen," she started.

"It isn't true. Leo is a boy, and I'm not a girl, so he -"

"Shut up for two minutes," Santana said impatiently. "Same thing I said to Leonardo goes for you. I don't care if you guys have a little crush on each other, or anyone; you're too young to deal with that."

Rhys completely ignored her. Instead, he turned his head and looked at me. "It's wrong. Isn't it, Quinnie? Boys love girls and girls love boys, right Quinnie?" I pursed my lips. Where is he even hearing this? What are they teaching him in school?

I cleared my throat. I could feel Santana's stare. "Girls love boys," I nodded hesitantly. "And girls, sometimes. Boys can love boys," I added quickly.

"But momma said -"

"Momma loves rules. But sometimes, rules don't make any sense." I bit my lip and hoped that was enough.

"Momma says that it's bad for boys to love boys," muttered Rhys.

"Well, if…" I glanced up at Santana, then looked Rhys in the eye, "If I loved a girl, would you love me any less?"

"No," he answered immediately.

"So that settles it," I smiled softly. "It can't be that bad, can it?"

"I guess not…"

"But, it's just like Santana said. You're too young for that," I fixed his hair a little bit, then kissed his forehead. "Why don't you go watch Tv for a little bit?"

When he left, I let out a sigh and rubbed my eyes.

"You handled that really well," Santana stated. I opened my eyes and wondered how I'd forgotten that she was in the room.

"You did too."

She nodded, then clicked her tongue. "Do you think they're actually gay?"

"I think they're close," I said quickly. "But maybe… not gay."

"Have you ever wondered why Rhys won't cut his hair?" She asked. I shrugged.

"He said he wants it to look like mine."

Later that night, I found myself sitting on my bed trying to finish up my Oceanography homework. When I heard two soft knocks, I was pretty sure that it was Rhys just coming to say goodnight. Instead, Santana came shuffling in.

"Hey?" I said, casting a glance upward before giving my attention to my laptop. I adjusted my black rimmed glasses, then looked up at her again when I noticed she was still silent. "Is there something you need?"

She shook her head, and gently sat down on the edge of my bed. "Just wanted to come in here. What are you doing?"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. It couldn't be more obvious - I have two books of the same subject open and resting right next to her. "Oceanography," I mumbled. I arched an eyebrow when she pushed some of my papers aside and laid down, propping herself up on a pillow. Then, to top it all off, she turned on the Tv. "What are you doing?" I asked, unable to mask my smile.

"We both know I would come in here in a few hours anyway," she shrugged. I nodded hesitantly, then went back to doing my homework. "So," she asked after a few minutes of silence. "Is it just me you're attracted to, or are you into -"

"Santana," I rolled my eyes.

"I know that," she smiled cheekily. I nudged her with my foot, so she grabbed it. I laughed as I tried to pull it away, but her grip stayed tight around my ankle. I finally leaned forward and tried to loosen it, but she tilted my chin up and pressed a kiss against my lips - I forgot I even had an ankle. When someone knocked on the door, neither of us heard it. I ignored the quiet creaking of the door being pushed open.

I feel like I should explain this random Rhys/ Leo thing. Rhys is inspired by my brother Michael, a lot of the things that he says are based off of things Michael really says. Like everything, basically. They are the same age. Yesterday, one of Michael's friends ran up to him while we were walking to our house, and hugged him. I heard Michael laugh and say "Don't be gay, dude!"

I just thought that it would help if I told you guys that little kids (as young as 8, who are pretty aware nowadays) are "exposed" to these kinds of subjects, and use the words freely when they think they are not heard, or are not bad words. I'm not saying that Gay is a bad word, I'm only saying that some parents (like my mom) don't feel comfortable with their kids saying things like that.

If you have any questions or concerns, let me know, but please don't say it in a rude way (:

Anyway! So it looks like someone caught them... I wonder who it is ;) See you soon!